Download JS Bach – Music for flute (Robert Brown)

J.S. BACH’S MUSIC FOR THE FLUTE,
AN HISTORICAL SURVEY THAT INCLUDES THE HISTORY AND
DEVELOPMENT OF THE BAROQUE FLUTE
by Robert Brown
Appeared in September 2000 issue
The great German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach,
Thuringia on March 21st, 1685. He died on July 28th, 1750 in Leipzig. The 250th
anniversary of his death is being widely celebrated this year. Bach composed more
important music for the flute than any other great composer. The Baroque flute’s
development and rise in France in the late seventeenth century led to it becoming the
dominant woodwind instrument in the eighteenth century. This article looks at the
Baroque flute’s history and the flute players of the early eighteenth century who
inspired J.S. Bach to compose some of the most significant works in the flute’s
repertoire.
The flute of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras has a cylindrical bore, six finger
holes, no joints and no keys. This instrument has a clear and relatively uncoloured tone.
In the second half of the seventeenth century the flute was redesigned, probably by the
French Hotteterre family. The headjoint is cylindrical with the remainder of the bore
being conical. A single key (E flat) was added. Martin Hotteterre (1656-1728) is
credited with making the first flute with three sections. The Baroque flute made its
orchestral debut in 1681 for Jean-Baptiste Lully’s ballet Le Triomphe de L’Amour.
Boxwood was the standard material used for flute tubing at this time. The Baroque flute
(often known as the transverse or German flute to distinguish it from the recorder or
English flute) has a more veiled but colourful sound than the Renaissance flute.
Once the Baroque flute had become established, players, composers and instrument
makers freely experimented with flute design, playing techniques, instrumental
combinations and musical style to find out what worked best. From about 1720 the
Baroque flute was made with four joints. This allowed the peripatetic flautist to use
longer or shorter middle sections called corps de réchange to raise or lower the pitch of
the flute because the pitch varied considerably in different localities.
The French King, Louis XIV (1638-1715), took a liking to the charms of the new soft
toned Baroque flute and appointed two flute virtuosi, Philbert Rebillé (c. 1650-1712)
and René-Pignon Descoteaux (c. 1646-1728) to the Chambre and Écurie at his Court.
These flautists performed simple airs and dance tunes that were either traditional or
newly composed in a style to please the Royal taste.
As a result of the Royal patronage amateurs from the aristocratic and upper class began
taking up the flute. The amateur market needed a supply of music to play and French
composers soon obliged. The bass viol player Marin Marais (1656-1828) published his
Pièces en trio pour les flutes, violin, et dessus de viole in 1692.
Two years later Michel de la Barre (1680-1743), a pupil of Philbert and Descoteaux,
published Pièces en trio for two violins, flutes, or oboes, with continuo. La Barre’s
music is in suite form, with dances and character pieces. In 1700 a second collection of
his trios appeared and the Pièces for flute and continuo issued in 1702 were the first
ever published for solo Baroque flute. Their elegance and simplicity of line were well
suited to la Barre’s own performance style. Joining the French Court in 1705 he was
regarded by his contemporaries as the best flute player in Paris. La Barre’s Pièces pour
la flûte traversière, Opus 4, published in 1703, advised the player on embouchure,
articulation and ornamentation, the first instructions to be printed in France.
Martin Hotteterre’s son, Jacques-Martin, known as Hotteterre ‘Le Romain’ (16731763), also joined the French Court in 1705. He wrote The Principles of the Flute,
Recorder and Oboe in 1707, the first treatise on the flute ever published. The book’s
title reflects the fact that most professional woodwind players at this time were required
to play several instruments, with the oboe as the principal instrument. In 1709, Michel
de la Barre became the first to publish suites for two flutes without bass. Hotteterre ‘Le
Romain’ published a set of Suites for the Baroque flute in 1708, dedicated to Louis
XIV, followed by a second set in 1715. Hotteterre gave descriptive titles to the
movements in his suites. In Suite No 1 in D Major the movements are Prélude,
Allemande La Royalle, Rondeau Le Duc d’Orléans, Sarabande La d’Armagnac, Gavotte
La Meudon, Menuet Le Comte de Brione and Gigue La Folichon. Georg Philipp
Telemann (1681-1767) composed his Suite in A minor in 1704 after Count Erdmann
von Promitz, whom he served as Kapellmeister, returned from Paris much taken with
the French suite. Telemann composed many other works for the flute, including sonatas
and the twelve Fantasias (about 1732).
In the late 1600s, after the Revocation of the Treaty of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685
(Henry IV had offered religious freedom and civil liberty in the Treaty of Nantes in
1598), many of the Huguenots (French Protestants) escaped to other European
countries, bringing the French culture with them. The Baroque flute found its way
around Europe, and gradually gained popularity. Jean Baptiste Loeillet (1680-1730)
took the Baroque flute to England in 1705, where he helped to popularise the instrument
and played oboe and flute at the Haymarket Theatre. Loeillet composed around 90
sonatas for the Baroque flute. George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was born at Halle in
Saxony, of the same middle class North German Protestant stock as Bach. Unlike Bach,
Handel became the much-travelled man of the world, finally settling in London. Recent
research credits Handel with four authentic flute sonatas and six for the recorder.
The French school had cultivated the dance, sensuous colours in instrumental music, a
grand style of overture and the suite of dances, which contrasted swaggering rhythms
and stately polyphony. The Italian school had specialised in the concerto and the
sonata, dignified counterpoint and evocative slow movements. In the unaligned
countries such as Germany, Austria and England, a melting pot of the idioms from these
two schools began to take place. The Baroque flute soon rivalled the violin and
recorder as an instrument that could play faster melodies and not just simple airs and
dance tunes. Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi (1675-1743) wrote at least 16 flute
concertos and 10 sonatas that clearly demonstrate the varied capabilities of the Baroque
flute.
Germany was divided into over 300 small states, dukedoms, principalities and free
cities. Every ruler had his own ensemble of court musicians and each city had its
official music makers. Churches required organists and cantors (directors of music).
There was plenty of work for the professional musician in the eighteenth century. Unity
had been shattered by the Thirty Years’ War, and each of the princelings and dukes
imitated the example of Louis XIV, providing themselves with ornate palaces adorned
with extravagant works of art at the expense of the oppressed peasantry.
The French flautist Pierre Gabriel Buffardin (1689-1768), a native of Marseilles, was
appointed principal flautist in the Saxon Court Orchestra of August II at Dresden in
1715. The Saxon musicians visited Italy in 1716 and returned full of enthusiasm for the
Italian music, especially that of Vivaldi. Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) was so
impressed with Buffardin that he took lessons from him for four months in 1718. On a
visit to Naples in 1724 Quantz overcame Alessandro Scarlatti’s dislike of woodwind
instruments because they always played out of tune! Quantz obtained employment at
the Dresden Court in 1719 where he remained until being summoned by King Frederick
the Great (1712-1786), King of Prussia, to become a Court Musician at Potsdam in
1741. He became the constant companion of the King, who was an enthusiastic flautist
and composer. Before this appointment, Quantz had been giving lessons in flute
playing and composition to Frederick when he was the Crown Prince. Buffardin and
Quantz are the most celebrated flute players of their time. Quantz was a prolific
composer, his output for the flute includes 300 concertos and 204 sonatas. His
important treatise ‘On Playing the Flute’ was written in 1752.
J.S. Bach’s brother, Johann Jacob, an oboist, had studied with Buffardin in
Constantinople in 1713. Bach heard Buffardin perform in 1717 when he visited
Dresden hoping to obtain an appointment as Music Director at August II’s Court so he
could leave his post as organist and chamber musician at Duke Wilhelm Ernst’s Court at
Weimar, where he had composed many of his greatest organ works. Bach’s earliest
music training had been with his father, Johann Ambrosius, and then after his father’s
death in 1695, with his eldest brother, Johann Christoph, a pupil of Pachelbel. As was
customary, Bach had studied the music of other composers by copying and arranging
their scores. In this way he became familiar with the styles of the foremost composers
of France, Germany, Austria and Italy.
Bach joined the Court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt at Cöthen as Director of Music in
December 1717. Prince Leopold, an amateur musician, played the viola da gamba in
the Court orchestra. Bach was very happy working at Cöthen and began a period of
composing mostly instrumental and chamber music. Buffardin’s expertise inspired
Bach to compose the unaccompanied A minor Partita, BWV 1013. Because there was
no established way of writing for the flute, the Partita seems to be better suited to the
violin. The Italian violin style was the rage in Dresden at the time and Bach wrote three
of the movements in the violin style, leaving out the double stops. [Gustav Schreck has
prepared a keyboard part that is included with the Peter’s edition of the Partita.]
In the Sarabande movement of the Partita, Bach has included suggestions of the
harmonic elements underneath within the vocal melodic line. The flutes of this time had
a strong sound in the low register and a projecting tone on cross fingered notes such as
F, G# and A#. On such an instrument, Buffardin was able to play the vocal line and
bring out the implied bass. The French players were noted for their ‘moaning and
amorous sighs’. The correct intonation of enharmonic notes, such as Eb and D#, was
considered to be of paramount importance. Quantz was a very strong advocate for this
and even added a second key to allow for the distinction between these two notes. As
an example, the pure Eb required for the 6th in G minor needed to be higher for the 3rd
in C minor, but the D# in E minor needed to be a lower pitched note to provide a large
semitone below the tonic for the raised 7th. Quantz made flutes that were pitched a tone
below modern pitch. He increased the size of the bore to give the flute a more powerful
sound. Quantz also invented a wooden tuning slide for the headjoint to facilitate the
tuning for soft playing. Later in the eighteenth century some makers gave the Baroque
flute a softer tone, a weaker low register and a blander intonation.
Bach was familiar with the four movement sonata da chiesa of Corelli, using this as a
model when composing his solo and trio sonatas. The Sonata in G minor, BWV 1020,
was originally for violin and harpsichord, and is of doubtful authenticity. American
Musicologist Robert Marshall suggests that Bach’s son, C.P.E. Bach, could have
composed this sonata. In the Flute Sonatas in B minor, Eb major and A major, BWV
1030-32, the concertante harpsichord parts are written out and the flute and harpsichord
are treated as equal partners. The B minor sonata is the most ambitious of Bach’s flute
sonatas. The last movement allows the performer to fully demonstrate his virtuosity.
About 40 bars are missing from the first movement of the A major sonata. Various
editors have attempted to replace this missing music.
The Flute Sonatas in C major, E minor and E major have the continuo and figured bass
of the Baroque era. There has been speculation about the authenticity of the Eb and C
major sonatas; Robert Marshall believes that they are original works. Marshall suggests
that the C major sonata was composed as an unaccompanied work in 1718 and that
C.P.E. Bach added the harpsichord part in 1731 as a harmony exercise. The E major
sonata, according to Marshall, was composed in 1841 for Bach’s first visit to Frederick
the Great’s Court at Potsdam, where his son C.P.E. Bach was employed. It is dedicated
to Michael Fredersdorf, Frederick the Great’s royal valet, an amateur flautist. The Suite
in C minor for flute and continuo, BWV 997, was probably composed at about the same
time, although there is some doubt about its original instrumentation, possibly it was
written for lute or keyboard. Having been thrilled and inspired by the marvellous
playing of Buffardin and Quantz, these sonatas indicate that Bach had a very precise
understanding of the possibilities of the Baroque flute. They were intended to challenge
the master performer.
The basic flute scale at this time was the diatonic scale on D. This meant that it was
usual for flute music to be written in keys with no more than 2 flats or 2 sharps. G
major and D major were the favoured keys. Keys with additional flats or sharps became
a challenge because of the awkward cross fingerings required and the associated
problems with intonation. Bach had deliberately selected the keys of Eb major, C
minor, A major and E major as a challenge to the flute players at Dresden, Leipzig and
Potsdam. Bach was a virtuoso musician writing for other virtuosos. In his Treatise of
1852, Quantz said ‘Pieces set in very difficult keys must be played only before listeners
who understand the instrument, and are able to grasp the difficulty of these keys on it;
they must not be played before everyone. You cannot produce brilliant and pleasing
things with good intonation in every key, as most amateurs demand’. By the middle of
the eighteenth century additional holes and keys were gradually being added to the flute
to reduce the number of cross fingerings and to improve intonation. The conical bore
flute has never entirely gone out of use, even with the advent of the Böhm flute in 1847,
and today is enjoying a revival.
In the G Major sonata for flute, violin and continuo, BWV 1038, Bach directed the
violinist to tune the upper strings down a tone to reduce their brightness, enabling a
better blend with the gentle flute. There is some doubt about the authenticity of this
sonata. One of Bach’s sons or students, possibly C.P.E. Bach, may have written the
work. The Sonata in G Major for two flutes and continuo, BWV 1039, was composed
at Cöthen in about 1720.
The six Brandenburg Concertos were dedicated in 1721 to the Marquis of
Brandenburg. Bach used the concerto grosso form, adopting Vivaldi’s technique of
setting solo instruments against each other. In the 2nd and 5th Concertos he omits the
ripieno strings in the slow movements. The 2nd and 4th Brandenburg Concertos
originally included the recorder in their scoring, while the 5th Concerto was scored for
Baroque flute. Prince Leopold brought to Cöthen a group of musicians from the
Prussian Court who performed a number of Bach’s compositions including the
Brandenburg Concertos. Johann-Heinrich Freytag, one of the flautists, performed the
Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041, originally a violin concerto. Replacing one solo
instrument with another and transcribing, arranging and adapting music were common
musical practices during the Baroque era, ones in which Bach freely indulged.
Bach became Cantor of the St Thomas School and Church at Leipzig in 1723. He
retained this position for the rest of his life. At Leipzig Bach composed many oratorios,
Passions, masses and cantatas for the church. A series of obbligato flute parts appear in
the cantatas composed between 1724 and 1726 and in the early 1730s. He had a number
of flute players at his disposal. Two university students were available as flautists for
the cantatas and ensemble music. His third son, Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach (17151739), played the flute. In the 1730s Bach reiterated his scoring of the 5th Brandenburg
Concerto with the Concerto in A minor for flute, violin, harpsichord and string
orchestra, BWV 1044. This work was composed for the Collegium Musicum, an
ensemble that presented regular concerts in Leipzig under Bach’s direction. Bernhard
Bach played in the Collegium Musicum until he left for Mülhaussen in 1735. Bach
used some earlier compositions as source material for this concerto; BWV 894, a
Prelude and fugue from a harpsichord concerto of about 1717, and BWV 527, the
Adagio e dolce from third of the six sonatas for organ of 1727-8. At about the same
time he also composed the well-known Second Orchestral Suite in B minor for flute,
strings and continuo, BWV 1067. An earlier version of this suite may have been
performed at Cöthen, with the Polonaise added later.
In May 1747 Bach visited Potsdam again at the request of Frederick the Great.
Frederick held concerts in his palace every evening. On checking the list of arrivals, he
said to the assembled company, ‘Gentlemen, old Bach has come.’ Bach was
immediately summoned and invited to try Frederick’s forte pianos. After improvising
several pieces, he asked the King for a subject for a fugue. Frederick was impressed
with the manner in which the fugue was executed, and asked Bach to play a fugue with
six parts. The King’s subject wasn’t suitable, so he chose another. On his return to
Leipzig, Bach wrote a set of canons and fugues on the Royal theme, and added a Trio
Sonata in E minor for flute, violin, ‘cello and continuo, BWV 1079. Bach’s time at
Leipzig culminated with the Musical Offering, the Goldberg Variations and the Art of
Fugue.
It is hard to believe that after Bach died in 1750 his music was treated as old fashioned
and that none of his music was considered suitable for publication for the next fifty
years. In 1829 Felix Mendelssohn directed a performance of the St Matthew Passion.
As a result a general interest in Bach’s music began to take place. He is now revered as
one of the greatest of all composers.
A list of J.S. Bach’s Compositions for Flute
Suite in C minor for flute and continuo, BWV 997. Edition Reinhardt.
Partita in A minor for solo flute, BWV 1013. Edition Peters 3332.
Flute Sonata in G minor for flute and harpsichord, BWV 1020.
Flute Sonata in B minor for flute and harpsichord, BWV 1030.
Flute Sonata in Eb major for flute and harpsichord, BWV 1031.
Flute Sonata in A major for flute and harpsichord, BWV 1032.
Flute Sonata in C major for flute and continuo, BWV 1033.
Flute Sonata in E minor for flute and continuo, BWV 1034.
Flute Sonata in E major for flute and continuo, BWV 1035.
Sonata in G Major for flute, violin and continuo, BWV 1038.
Sonata in G Major for two flute and continuo, BWV 1039.
Concerto in A minor for flute, violin, harpsichord and string orchestra, BWV 1044.
Brandenburg Concerto No 2 in F major for violin, flute (recorder), oboe, trumpet,
strings and continuo, BWV 1046.
A list of J.S. Bach’s Compositions for Flute
Brandenburg Concerto No 4 in G major for two flutes (recorders), violin, strings and
continuo, BWV 1048.
Brandenburg Concerto No 5 in D major for flute, violin, harpsichord, strings and
continuo, BWV 1049.
Orchestral Suite No 2 in B minor for flute, strings and continuo, BWV 1067.
Trio Sonata in E minor from the Musical Offering, flute, violin, ‘cello and continuo,
BWV 1079.
Flute obbligatos from the Cantatas, Passions and Oratorios. A collection of 25 flute
obbligatos, edited by Frans Vester, is published by Universal Edition, UE 15372. A
collection of 36 flute solos from the Cantatas, Passions and Oratorios, edited by Julius
Baker, is published by G. Schirmer, Inc.
Transcriptions and Arrangements
*Concerto in A minor, for flute, strings and continuo, BWV 1041, from Violin
Concerto.
*Concerto in A minor, for flute, strings and continuo, BWV 1056, from Harpsichord
Concerto No 5.
*Concerto in E minor, for flute, strings and continuo, BWV 1059 & BWV 35,
reconstructed by W. Radeke (Breitkopf & Härtel).
‘Air on the G String’ from Orchestral Suite No 3 in D major, BWV 1068.
Bach for Unaccompanied Flute, 17 movements from the Solo Suites for Violin and
‘Cello, arranged for flute by Fritz Spiegl. Oxford University Press.
There are countless other transcriptions and arrangements of Bach’s music for the flute.
Compiling a list of all these would be a daunting task!
*These concertos have been recorded by some of our leading flautists, including JeanPierre Rampal and James Galway.
Sources of Information:
Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th Edition. Edited by Eric Blom.
MacMillan.
Oxford Companion to Music. Percy Scholes. Oxford.
Flutes, Flautists and Makers. Andrew Fairley. Pan Educational Music.
The Flute Book. Nancy Toff. Scribners.
Pan, June 2000. J.S. Bach, 250th Celebration issue.
Bach. Tim Dowley. Lives of the Great Composers. Omnibus Press.
Gentlemen! Old Bach is Here. Cunliffe Owen. Hutchinson.
My Complete Story of the Flute. Leonardo de Lorenzo. Texas Tech University Press.
Flute. James Galway. Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides. Macdonald.
Assorted CD and record cover notes.
The Flute. Philip Bate. Ernest Benn.
The Interpretation of Early Music. Robert Donington. Faber.
Jacques Hotteterre ‘Le Romain’. Principles of the Flute, Recorder and Oboe.
Translated by David Lasocki. Barrie Cresset.
On Playing the Flute. J.J. Quantz. Translated by Edward Reilly. Faber.
A Treatise on the Flute. R.S. Rockstro. Musica Rara.
Flute Repeertoire Catalogue. Frans Vester. Musica Rara.
Literature for the Flute. James J. Pellerite. Zalo Publications.